Penelope keith

So often actors only mix with actors, which is quite incestuous, and doesn't give them the insight into how other people work.

A lot of people have it - that fantasy of being lord or lady of the manor, either in the present or at some time in history.

The character I play in Star Quality says acting is the be-all and end-all of her life. I'm not like that. I do enjoy working and I give every job my best shot but I never feel, What on Earth am I...

I'm sure that is a reason why young people occasionally bash up old people - because the ages don't mix any more.

We have this wonderful language and we don't appreciate it. That's old-fashioned me, but when I went to school, everyone had elocution lessons, not to sound posh but so you could be understood.

Young people don't want to sit at home and watch television; they'd sooner be out doing their own thing.

Older people, who just happen to have been around longer, may not be cleverer than the young, but they have seen more.

I'm a realist.

We always had chocolates and my mother was careful to make sure they were unwrapped in advance so the paper wouldn't rustle in the middle of a performance.

I think I'm a better actress for having friends and interests outside the theatre. I wouldn't want to live my life surrounded by other actors all the time.